2011 Canterbury

Canterbury, August 14-20 2011, IGU Urban Commission Meeting

Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury, UK

August 14-20, 2011

The following pages include an outline of the meeting. The outline includes information about the conference themes, a conference and excursion schedule, costs of the conference, and how to get there.

Further and more detailed information will be available in early December.

However at this point if you are interested in attending and wish to either make an expression of interest in attending or have further questions please contact daniel.donoghue@canterbury.ac.uk and include IGU in the email subject area.

Canterbury

The City of Canterbury is located less than 100km from London. Despite this proximity to a pre-eminent global city Canterbury and its surrounding region suffer from the effects of peripherality. This paradox lends itself to geographical inquiry and guides the theme of this Urban Commission meeting.

The theme Urban Transformations: Exploring Local, Regional and Global City Regions encompasses a wide range of research currently undertaken by members of the Commission and provides a framework within which the three main issues identified above can be explored. The City region concept allows researchers to investigate not just the immediate area of ‘the city’ but to expand their horizons at a range of geographical scales to look at the vast network of interactions that occur within and between settlements of all sizes within the wider hinterlands of urban places. As such this theme keeps in mind the rationale of the Commission to explore the emerging trends that are rapidly transforming the character of cities and their hinterlands. Although the various processes causing urban transformations are common to many countries, changes in urban systems and the internal geography of cities as well as concerns regarding sustainability, take different forms in different places. This is particularly true for city regions where one can find evidence for remoteness, peripherality and even exclusion among smaller centres despite their immediate locations within spheres of influence of larger metropolitan centres.

This meeting will provide the opportunity for research and ideas from around the world to be brought together so that we may all learn from each other’s experiences. As many of the transformations taking place in our cities are contingent upon local, regional, national and international circumstances it is appropriate that any attempt to explore urban transformations, inter-relationships and interdependencies are conducted within their appropriate regional contexts.

In keeping with the present objectives of the commission two specific urban problems have been chosen as issues – more complex urban systems and creating sustainability. The meeting will focus on complex urban systems and their transformations and will explore the way in which sustainable solutions for transformation are developed. Within these broad issues a number of specific research problems and topics are identified. These problems include both theoretical and applied issues derived from the emerging urban transformations. The meeting will focus on these issues, although not exclusively. The participants will be able to explore the global and regional nature of the urban transformations, to identify solutions to emerging problems, and to create new research networks among urban geographers in various countries and continents.

In keeping with the Theme and Issues of the meeting papers and presentations on the following Topics are most welcome.

Global Cities and Networks

Exploring Global, National, Regional and Local Urban Systems

Urban Regeneration in City Regions - From Small (Seaside) Towns to Metropolitan Mega Projects

A number of these topics will be examined during a series of scientific excursions that integral to the meeting. These excursions are included in the conference fee and constitute an important part of the meeting. There will be no discount for not going on excursions.

In addition to the Academic Schedule and the Scientific Excursions there will be a full programme of events for accompanying persons. This will include two dedicated days of visits just for them. The scientific excursions will also cater for accompanying persons.

Submission of Abstracts for IGU Urban - Canterbury 2011

Abstracts should be submitted in MS Word using Times New Roman 12pt font, single spacing. (max length 200 words). The abstract should identify 5 key words. Abstracts should include the title of the paper, your name, institutional affiliation and address, and e-mail. Abstracts that do not meet the above criteria or that are sent in any other format will be omitted from the programme.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is March 31, 2011.

Deadline extension to April 15, 2011 for abstracts receipt

Submission of Articles for IGU Urban - Canterbury 2011

All articles should be submitted in MS Word using Times New Roman 12pt font, double spacing. All headings should be 14pt and Bold. The maximum length of the papers should be 5000 words. You may go over this limit but your paper will not be considered for publication in the edited edition. Negotiations are underway with a publisher for an edited edition made up of a selection of papers from the conference. The decision as to what papers to include in that edited edition will rest with members of the IGU Urban Executive, the Organising Committee and the Publishers. A tentative title for the publication is ‘City Peripheries’, so it is strongly suggested that if you wish for your paper to be included it fits in with the academic aims of the Commission and the Meeting as outlined on the Meeting webpage. It is strongly suggested that authors use spelling and grammar checkers in MS word prior to submission. Submissions that do not meet the above criteria or that are sent in any other format will be omitted from the proceedings.

Accommodation

All presentations will be held on campus where accommodation is located.

75 single rooms in the University Halls of Residence on Campus have been reserved for bed and breakfast. In addition there will be a number of hotels available, for guests to book if they so wish, all within 1km of the University. As Canterbury is a tourist town and the conference is being held in the middle of the summer holidays booking early should be a priority. The next circular will have more details but estimated costs for a double room in Canterbury are in the region of £90 to £120 per night sterling.

Payment Methods

Off Campus Accommodation

Make your own arrangements – 3 suggested locations below, all within easy walk of the campus. You will need to get in touch with these hotels as soon as possible as it is a very busy time of year and Canterbury does not have many hotel rooms!

Getting to Canterbury

Canterbury is easily accessed from all 5 London airports by rail and road. Canterbury is 60 miles from Central London.

From Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and City Airports take train or London underground to Central London. Go to either Victoria or St. Pancras stations and take train to Canterbury.

From Luton airportyou must take a bus to central London (Victoria). You can then get to Canterbury by train or bus.

The train from St. Pancras is high-speed (one hour) but comes into West Station Canterbury (which is further from campus than where the trains from Victoria Station arrive). Still only a 20 minute walk across the city.

Trains from Victoria arrive at East Station Canterbury (travel time 1 hour 20 minutes) but this will be nearer Campus and if you arrive Sunday afternoon it is only 300 metres from where the registration and arrival reception is being held.

From the registration and reception site transport will be arranged for members to take them to their chosen accommodation.

Trains from continental Europe (Eurostar) stop at Ashford, Kent where one can change trains for Canterbury West Station (20 minute train journey from Ashford to Canterbury).

For groups of two or more it may be just as economical and much quicker to take a taxi from the airport to Canterbury. These can be arranged in advance through the meetingcoordinator.